Angler Guy Yokom and his crew from El Suertudo show off their prized catch, a 427-pound yellowfin tuna that could be the all-tackle, world record for the species.
Pisces Sportfishing Photo - Article from San Diego Union Tribune
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Steve Tagami didn’t sound like a guy whose company was about to lose $1 million to an angler who caught a potential world-record fish.
Tagami, head of sales for Mustad, the world’s oldest hook company, actually sounded downright giddy about the prospect of his company giving away the big loot for the big fish. Guy Yokom of Dana Point used a Mustad hook to land a 427.5- or 421-pound yellowfin, depending on which scale is verified, Tuesday morning 180 miles south of Cabo San Lucas. If the catch is approved by the International Game Fish Association as an all-tackle, world-record yellowfin tuna, Yokom gets $1 million because he beat the Sept. 30 catch deadline of Mustad’s “Hook A Million” contest.
“I’m telling you, everyone at Mustad is excited about this,” Tagami said. “This is good for Mustad, good for the angler and good for the sport. For him to do this at the 11th hour is just amazing. It’s all good stuff.”
Yokom and his crew of seven, which included captain Greg DiStefano of San Clemente, on the aptly named El Suertudo, which means “the lucky one,” have been working for Mustad’s $1 million prize.
But they’re not the only ones who will benefit from catching this magnificent fish. Many will benefit, not the least of which will be the economically depressed Cabo San Lucas area.
The world’s economic crisis has taken a deep toll on fishing and hunting destinations. Sportsmen and women have been worried more about keeping their homes and jobs than taking fishing trips to resorts towns like Cabo San Lucas or East Cape.
A world-record catch like this has tremendous value. Just ask captain Mike Lackey of the Vagabond. His angler, Mike Livingston, landed the current yellowfin standard, that 405.2-pounder, in December of 2010. The Vagabond isn’t the biggest long-range boat in the fleet, but it received big-boat publicity for that catch.
And now it’s Cabo San Lucas’ turn. I asked Tracy Ehrenberg of the Pisces Group Cabo, a sportfishing fleet based at the tip of Baja, what the catch means to the once sleepy fishing village that grew up to be big-game fishing and big-time partying central. Ehrenberg responded in an email.
“To have a fish like this weighed in Cabo is worth a fortune in marketing as it focuses attention on our city from a worldwide audience,” Ehrenberg wrote. “It proves that once again Cabo is one of, if not the best fishing spot on the planet and that marlin is not the only thing we do. Cabo and Baja California Sur produce record tuna, dorado, wahoo and roosterfish as well as marlin and compared side by side with other fishing destinations it is still the best value out there.
“This also shows the importance of keeping our oceans well managed, that with healthy seas we can attract revenue from sports fishermen who use the resource carefully and do not have the impact of commercial fishing that often uses destructive techniques.
“With the economy the way it is, a lot of anglers are no longer making their yearly trip to Cabo, but with great fishing news, it will get their attention focused on our town and its incredible fishing again and encourage them to come back.”
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